GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Finding trained growers is a major challenge for our industry. Your best investment is to upskill your own workers to make better crop management decisions by learning the underlying horticultural science of plant growth. Greenhouse 101 is a great introduction to the Greenhouse Training Online program offered by the University of Florida IFAS Extension. It is designed for people with no formal training in horticulture that work in the greenhouse or nursery industry, or those that wish to join the horticulture industry. Topics covered are plant parts and functions, photosynthesis and growth, greenhouse technology, flowering, compactness and branching, irrigation, nutrition, and plant health. The course is offered in English and Spanish.
Join over 870 growers who have graduated from Greenhouse 101 since 2015 in our award-winning program and receive a customized certificate of completion. Rated 4.4 out of 5 stars by grower participants.
The course runs from May 30 to June 25, 2021. The cost is $US249 per participant, with a 20% discount if you register 5 or more. All course material is completely online and available at any time of the day, and includes pre-recorded videos, an interactive discussion board with PhD professors, and quizzes. Two new modules are activated each week during the course, for a total of 8 learning modules. Instruction is at your own pace and time within the 4 weeks of the course, with a typical time commitment of about 5 hours per week. Students praise this methodology: “The ability to do coursework at your own pace was new to me and was much appreciated.” Click here to register (http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/training/).
For more information, go to http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/training/, or contact Greenhouse Training, Environmental Horticulture, University of Florida, USA, Email: greenhousetraining@ifas.ufl.edu.
–Maria Paz Kinslow, UF/IFAS
